It is time to look for something fresh.

After decades of being stuck in an endless repeat, formalwear is back to what is was in the earlier 20th century and before:

A chance to show distinction and individuality. Charm. Even a sense of humor.

A man either knows who he is or he doesn’t. And the man who knows who he is is less concerned with rules than with expression.

Whether you are attending black tie events on a regular basis or looking for something unique to wear to your wedding, choosing black and white tie attire is a chance to examine your tastes, your personality, and the things that you appreciate.

Looking fashionable is always about looking to tradition and finding the elements that are most relevant to the present.

In the images attached to this post, we looked variously to the Victorian smoking jacket, the jacket cuffs of the 1920s, mid-20th century resort dinner jackets, the fitted pants of the cavalry man, and military double-breasted waistcoats.

The result is a little bit of the gentleman. A little bit of the rogue.

Ready for a wedding. And for the party after the wedding.

The first jacket is cut from a napped chenille brocade with silk velvet lapels, cuffs, and pocket welts.

The jacket is paired with a wool gabardine rocker pant with a velvet tuxedo stripe and a silk velvet topper trimmed with cock feathers.

A pointed back collar and pointed cuffs, give the piece a bit of extra character.

The jacket is utterly fitted with a frock waist seam that gives it a slight hourglass look.

The next tuxedo pictured is cut from 11oz wool gabardine in navy with heavy silk grosgrain lapels and 1920s style cuffs.

The jacket is shown with a silk brocade vest in a double breasted style with a high neck and a trouser with a tuxedo braid on the outseam.

But these pieces are just examples of what we can do.

All of our tuxedos are completely custom made for each client, starting with unique sketches that we do based on your thoughts and sourcing the finest fabrics from around the world.

Most of our tuxedos are “muslin fit.”

This means that we cut and sew cotton prototypes of the garments and mail them to you. Then you send us digital pictures and your comments and we fine tune the patterns and look to suit you perfectly.

We make suits for clients who are looking for something distinctive all over the world.

In the United States, we tend to call the best business and formal

looks and fits “European” or “Italian” or “British,”–

Edwardian Cut Brown Flannel Sport Suit

sometimes for good reason, and sometimes merely as a shorthand for saying that a look is “good” or “exciting” or somehow intangibly different from the basic relaxed New England look that we are used to seeing in the shops.
But if there is one area of tailoring that is truly American, it is sportswear.

To a certain extent, we inherited our love and notions of “sports” from the British. But sport always meant something a bit different to Americans than it did to the Brits.

Crown Shape Pockets and 1920s Style Cuffs

To the Brits “sport” centered around the country estate and the hunt—activities that one would do as a gentleman of leisure when outside of the city.

For Americans, this idea of sport was quickly eclipsed by the idea of strenuous activities that one did often for the sake of health and entertainment.

Crown Shaped Breast Pocket with Embroidered Crowsfoot Tacks

The tennis court, the golf course, the beach. Sailing, skiing, riding, fishing and even flying.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries men wore sport jackets for all of these activities.

Slim Fit Box Pleated Pant

Jackets with “action backs” to allow for a freedom of movement.

Jackets with throat latches to keep out the cold.

Shawl Collar Hand-Stitched Vest

Jackets from linen for the heat and sweat or from waxed cotton to keep out the rain.

The ideal man was not a man of leisure but a man of activity who needed to be ready for anything!

Suits made from matched cloth were replaced by separates.

Plaid Seersucker Sport Jacket

A jacket in one fabric, and a pant in another. Plaids, houndstooths, herringbones.

Eventually sportswear evolved into our basic everyday casual clothing. And in the late 20th Century came to mean nothing more than jeans and a t-shirt.

Linen Moto Vest

But now, when more and more men are trying to dress up and look good, an older, more authentic vision of sportswear has become relevant again.

Linen Back on Tweed Vest

We want to dress better. But we don’t want to be limited by the way that we dress.

We want durable fabrics that we can wear anywhere.

We want a full range of movement so that we can drive, throw a ball, or put away a bottle on the top shelf.

Most of all, an American aesthetic is about not being constrained.

Shawl Collar Donegal Tweed Vest

We buy big trucks instead of little cars, so that we can (at least in our imaginations) drive a rocky road to a forlorn mountain cabin or pack up all of our belongings to move to a new town.
Part of what Denver Bespoke and AJ Machete and Sons are about is a striving after an authentically American vision of tailoring.

We aren’t interested in recycling English and European fashions, either as a vision of James Bond or a British gent, or that perfectly spontaneous and romantic looking fellow at the Italian cafe.

1920s Style American "Swoosh" Breastpocket

We want something a bit more rugged. Maybe a bit more rustic.

Copper Stitching and Buttons with Herringbone Shirt

Something that fits in with the Rocky Mountains and the American West instead of the postcard version of a European capital.

Retro Tweed Pant with Wide Waistband

So we call our suits “American Suits”. But basically they are just suits for men who do things and who want to look good doing them.

All of our pieces our completely custom made. And we are one of the few tailors anywhere who work in a sportswear aesthetic and can make any detail that you have seen anywhere.

Every year, many of our clients choose to get married in tails.

Sometimes in classic white tie, sometimes in a swallowtail look or in one of our military or steampunk styles.

Tailcoats and morning coats have deep roots in tradition, but in the modern era can be some of the most unique and expressive pieces in menswear.

In recent decades, women would show up in wedding gowns and flamboyant ball gowns and men would show up in rented black suits.

Such is a poor way to honor the special events in one’s life.

But recently, we have seen more and more tailcoats at red carpet events as men have become more interested in dressing well.

Traditionally, the black tailcoat with a black double striped trouser and a matching white pique vest, shirt bib, and bowtie was the ultimate evening formalwear.

For the daytime, a black or charcoal morning coat—a frock coat that sometimes has a pronounced swallowtail or cutaway shape—with a charcoal striped pant, and a contrast vest, with either with a contrast formal cravat or bowtie was the way to go.

But dressing well is not so much about following the rules as it is about using tradition to express your individuality.

The pics show one of our most recent morning suits.

The cut of the coat is a hybrid of a swallowtail coat with the sharper, more angled shape of classic tailcoats.

The front shape is continuous along the placket, but then cuts away sharply back into a square tail. It is my feeling that this shape feels more modern than a classic swallowtail.

All of the pieces tie in various shades of purple.

The tailcoat is cut from a black wool, but with silk lapel facings that wrap around to the wool edge which features rows of decorative buttonholes. The silk is iridescent—charcoal grey woven with subtle purple.

The vest––cut from pale purple silk––features classic peak lapels and a low neck.

And the pant is made from a traditional morning stripe charcoal wool––but here the stripes are purple as well this time, a bold purple that is only visible when close.

The cut of the pants is a classic wide-leg pleated style with wide cuffs.

Finally, the 6″ top hat is cut from a subtle purple heather flannel that reads as charcoal grey at first glance with trim to match the morning coat.

We made everything in the pics except the shoes and the ivory handled walking stick (which belonged to my great great grandfather!).

So if you are considering a tailcoat, a morning coat, a top hat, or a vest definitely Contact Us so that we can talk more.

All of our pieces are custom made to your measurements, and with the full suits, we actually cut and sew mock-ups of the pieces to mail to you to try on, ensuring a perfect fit in the final garments.

Last year, we made suits for events all across the world.

So where ever you are located, we can make a suit for you.

Each piece is handmade one-at-a-time here in our studio in Denver, Colorado.